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Oxford Online English, Talking About Your Job in English - Spoken English Lesson

Talking About Your Job in English - Spoken English Lesson

Hi, I'm Mike and welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn how to talk about your job in English.

Where do you work?

What do you have to do in your job?

What kind of company do you work for?

In this class, you can learn how to answer questions like this in clear, detailed English.

Ready?

Let's start!

Part one: introducing your job.

"I'm a ": "I work in "; "I work for _."

How would you complete these sentences?

You could say something like:

"I'm a writer.

I work in online education.

I work for a publishing company."

'I work in...' is used with a field, meaning a type of work.

So, you can say things like:

"I work in finance."

"I work in digital marketing."

You can also use 'work in' with a place or a department of a company.

For example:

"I work in the HR department of a financial firm."

"I work in a school, teaching modern languages."

Confused?

You can see that if you use 'work in' to talk about the type of work you do, you don't

use an article like 'a' or 'the'.

If you use an article 'a' or 'the' after 'work in', it means you're talking about the place

or department where you work.

'I work for…' is used with a company.

So, you could say:

"I'm a salesman.

I work for a mobile phone company."

"I work for a law firm based in Frankfurt."

Or even: "I run my own business, so I work for myself."

What can you say?

Can you make sentences like this to say something about your job?

Pause the video and try to make a sentence.

Say it aloud!

Next, let's add more details to your answer.

Part two: describing your company.

"I work for a _ company which "

Look at this sentence.

We need one adjective, and the end of the sentence after 'which'.

Any ideas?

For the adjectives, think about these ideas: is your company big or small?

Local or multinational?

For the part after 'which', ask yourself: what does your company do?

Does it make things, sell things, organise things?

Does it provide products, services, or both?

So, you could say:

"I work for an international electronics company which makes tablet computers."

"I work for a German company which does market research for other companies."

What if you don't work for a company?

Here are some things you could say:

"I'm a freelancer."

Meaning: I work independently, for different people and companies.

"I'm self-employed."

Meaning: I work for myself, either freelance or I have my own business.

"I'm a business owner."

If you don't work, and people ask you what you do, what can you say?

Here are some useful phrases:

"I'm between jobs at the moment."

Meaning: I've left one job, and haven't found another yet.

This sounds nicer than saying, “I'm unemployed.”

"I'm taking some time out to…(travel, spend time with my kids, write a book, recover

from an illness, etc.)" Meaning: I'm not working at the moment because I want to focus

on something else.

"I'm retired."

What about you?

Do you work for a company?

What can you say about it?

If you don't work for a company, how would you describe your work situation?

Part three: how to describe your job in more detail.

So what do you actually do all day?

Let's see how you can describe your job in more detail.

Look at these sentences:

"I have to _"; "I'm responsible for _"; "Most of my time is spent

_".

Let's do some examples together.

We'll start with a simple example.

"I'm a nurse.

I have to look after patients, give them medicine and make sure they're comfortable.

I'm responsible for about 20-30 patients.

Most of my time is spent talking to patients and checking that everything is okay."

Next, let's do a more detailed example.

"I have to design websites to the client's specifications.

I'm responsible for the whole design process, so I have to take the client's ideas and

turn them into a finished product.

Most of my time is spent experimenting with different designs and ideas and seeing what

looks good, because attention to detail is important in this kind of work."

Can you say something like this about your job and what you do?

Try to add details if you can.

Part four: saying how you feel about your job.

Now, you can hopefully say something about your job and where you work.

But here's another question: do you like your job?

Why or why not?

Hopefully, you enjoy your job!

How could you describe a job which you like?

Of course, you could use general adjectives like 'good' or 'interesting', but here are

some specific adjectives you could use:

Stimulating :something which is stimulating is exciting and gives you energy.

Satisfying: means that your job gives you a sense of achievement.

Creative: you can use your imagination when you work.

Rewarding: this means your job gives you very positive feelings.

It's often used to talk about jobs in which you help other people.

For example, teachers or nurses might describe their jobs as rewarding.

Challenging: challenging can be positive or negative, but if you use it to talk about

your job, it would have a positive meaning.

It means that your job is difficult, but in an interesting way which makes you think and

learn.

What if you don't like your job?

Again, you can use general words like 'boring' or 'difficult', which are fine but very basic.

If you want to be more creative with your vocabulary, here are some things you could

say:

Exhausting: describes work which makes you feel very tired, either physically or mentally.

Thankless:if your work is thankless, no one notices or appreciates what you do.

Mind-numbing: extremely boring.

Dead-end: describes a job which has no prospects for the future.

If you have a dead-end job, you will never get promoted and the job will always be the

same.

Soul-destroying: describes a job which is extremely unpleasant and boring, and which

you really, really hate.

Part five: how to make a longer answer.

At this point, you should be able to introduce your work, say where you work, give details

about what you do and say how you feel about your work.

Let's make some longer sample answers together.

First one:

"I'm a pharmacist.

I started my own small pharmacy, so I'm also a business owner.

I have to work as a pharmacist, of course, giving advice to patients and making sure

they have the right medicine.

However, I'm also responsible for the pharmacy, so I have to manage my staff, do the accounts,

and so on.

It's stimulating work because I have to do many different things every day, so I never

get bored."

Clear?

Could you make an answer like this?

Let's do one more:

"I'm a writer.

I work in online education.

I work for a big publishing company, which produces different educational materials that

are used all around the world.

I have to write lesson plans and materials for teachers to use in the classroom.

I spend most of my time thinking about how I can make different things fit together into

a lesson.

It's very challenging work and it can be exhausting, but it's also very creative

and satisfying, because I know people all around the world are using lessons which I

wrote."

Okay, now it's your turn!

Try to make a longer answer like this talking about your job.

Use the vocabulary and structure from this lesson to help you.

If you want, you can post your answer in the video comments on YouTube.

We'll give you some feedback on your answer.

That's the end of the lesson.

I hope you learned some new ways to talk about your job and what you do.

Thanks very much for watching.

See you next time!


Talking About Your Job in English - Spoken English Lesson Über Ihren Job auf Englisch sprechen - Spoken English Lesson Hablar de su trabajo en inglés - Lección de inglés hablado Parler de son travail en anglais - Leçon d'anglais parlé Parlare del proprio lavoro in inglese - Lezione di inglese parlato 仕事について英語で話す - スピーキングレッスン 직업에 대해 영어로 말하기 - 구어체 영어 레슨 Praten over je baan in het Engels - Gesproken Lessen Engels Rozmowa o pracy po angielsku - lekcja mówionego angielskiego Falar sobre o seu trabalho em inglês - Aula de Inglês falado Разговор о работе на английском языке - Урок разговорного английского языка İşiniz Hakkında İngilizce Konuşmak - Konuşma İngilizcesi Dersi 用英语谈论你的工作 - 英语口语课程 用英語談論你的工作 - 英語口語課程

Hi, I'm Mike and welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn how to talk about your job in English. In dieser Lektion können Sie lernen, wie Sie auf Englisch über Ihren Job sprechen.

Where do you work? Wo arbeitest du?

What do you have to do in your job? Was müssen Sie in Ihrem Job machen?

What kind of company do you work for? Für was für ein Unternehmen arbeiten Sie? В какой компании вы работаете? 你在什麼樣的公司工作?

In this class, you can learn how to answer questions like this in clear, detailed English. In diesem Kurs können Sie lernen, wie Sie Fragen wie diese in klarem, detailliertem Englisch beantworten. На этом занятии вы научитесь отвечать на подобные вопросы на понятном и подробном английском языке.

Ready?

Let's start! 開始吧!

Part one: introducing your job. Erster Teil: Stellen Sie Ihren Job vor. Часть первая: знакомство с работой.

"I'm a ________": "I work in ________"; "I work for _________." „Ich bin ein“: „Ich arbeite in“; "Ich arbeite für _."

How would you complete these sentences?

You could say something like: Du könntest so etwas sagen:

"I'm a writer. "Ich bin Schriftsteller.

I work in online education. Ich arbeite in der Online-Bildung. Я работаю в сфере онлайн-образования. 我从事在线教育工作。

I work for a publishing company." Ich arbeite für einen Verlag." Я работаю в издательстве».

'I work in...' is used with a field, meaning a type of work. 'Ich arbeite in...' wird mit einem Feld verwendet, was eine Art von Arbeit bedeutet. «Я работаю в...» используется с полем, означающим тип работы. 「I work in...」與欄位一起使用,表示一種工作類型。

So, you can say things like: Sie können also Dinge sagen wie: Итак, вы можете сказать что-то вроде:

"I work in finance." "Ich arbeite im Finanzbereich."

"I work in digital marketing." "Ich arbeite im digitalen Marketing." “我从事数字营销工作。”

You can also use 'work in' with a place or a department of a company. Sie können 'arbeiten in' auch mit einem Ort oder einer Abteilung eines Unternehmens verwenden.

For example:

"I work in the HR department of a financial firm." "Ich arbeite in der Personalabteilung eines Finanzunternehmens." “我在一家金融公司的人力资源部门工作。”

"I work in a school, teaching modern languages." "Ich arbeite in einer Schule und unterrichte moderne Sprachen." «Я работаю в школе, преподаю современные языки».

Confused? Verwirrt? Смущенный?

You can see that if you use 'work in' to talk about the type of work you do, you don't Sie können sehen, dass Sie es nicht tun, wenn Sie „arbeiten in“ verwenden, um über die Art der Arbeit zu sprechen, die Sie tun

use an article like 'a' or 'the'. Verwenden Sie einen Artikel wie 'ein' oder 'der'. используйте артикль типа «a» или «the».

If you use an article 'a' or 'the' after 'work in', it means you're talking about the place Wenn Sie einen Artikel 'a' oder 'the' nach 'work in' verwenden, bedeutet dies, dass Sie über den Ort sprechen Если вы используете артикль «a» или «the» после «work in», это означает, что вы говорите о месте.

or department where you work.

'I work for…' is used with a company. „Ich arbeite für …“ wird mit einem Unternehmen verwendet.

So, you could say:

"I'm a salesman. „Ich bin Verkäufer.

I work for a mobile phone company." Ich arbeite für ein Mobilfunkunternehmen."

"I work for a law firm based in Frankfurt." "Ich arbeite für eine Anwaltskanzlei mit Sitz in Frankfurt." "Trabajo para un bufete de abogados con sede en Fráncfort". 「私はフランクフルトの法律事務所で働いています。 «Я работаю в юридической фирме во Франкфурте». “我在法兰克福的一家律师事务所工作。” “我在法蘭克福的一家律師事務所工作。”

Or even: "I run my own business, so I work for myself." Oder auch: „Ich betreibe mein eigenes Geschäft, also arbeite ich für mich selbst.“ O incluso: "Tengo mi propio negocio, así que trabajo para mí mismo". Или даже: «У меня свой бизнес, поэтому я работаю на себя».

What can you say?

Can you make sentences like this to say something about your job?

Pause the video and try to make a sentence.

Say it aloud! Sag es laut! 大聲說出來!

Next, let's add more details to your answer. Als Nächstes fügen wir Ihrer Antwort weitere Details hinzu.

Part two: describing your company.

"I work for a _________ company which __________" "Ich arbeite für eine _ Firma, die "

Look at this sentence. Schau dir diesen Satz an.

We need one adjective, and the end of the sentence after 'which'.

Any ideas?

For the adjectives, think about these ideas: is your company big or small? Что касается прилагательных, подумайте об этих идеях: ваша компания большая или маленькая?

Local or multinational? Lokal oder multinational?

For the part after 'which', ask yourself: what does your company do?

Does it make things, sell things, organise things?

Does it provide products, services, or both? Bietet es Produkte, Dienstleistungen oder beides?

So, you could say:

"I work for an international electronics company which makes tablet computers." "Ich arbeite für ein internationales Elektronikunternehmen, das Tablet-Computer herstellt." «Я работаю в международной компании по производству электроники, которая производит планшетные компьютеры».

"I work for a German company which does market research for other companies." „Ich arbeite für ein deutsches Unternehmen, das Marktforschung für andere Unternehmen durchführt.“ «Я работаю в немецкой компании, которая занимается исследованиями рынка для других компаний».

What if you don't work for a company? Was ist, wenn Sie nicht für ein Unternehmen arbeiten?

Here are some things you could say:

"I'm a freelancer." "Ich bin Freiberufler." “我是一名自由工作者。”

Meaning: I work independently, for different people and companies.

"I'm self-employed." "Ich bin selbstständig." „Jestem samozatrudniony”.

Meaning: I work for myself, either freelance or I have my own business. Значение: я работаю на себя, либо фрилансер, либо у меня свой бизнес.

"I'm a business owner." "Ich bin Unternehmer."

If you don't work, and people ask you what you do, what can you say?

Here are some useful phrases: Hier sind einige nützliche Sätze:

"I'm between jobs at the moment." "Ich bin im Moment zwischen den Jobs." «В данный момент я между работами».

Meaning: I've left one job, and haven't found another yet. Значение: я уволился с одной работы и еще не нашел другую.

This sounds nicer than saying, “I'm unemployed.” Das klingt schöner, als zu sagen: „Ich bin arbeitslos.“

"I'm taking some time out to…(travel, spend time with my kids, write a book, recover "Я беру отпуск, чтобы... (путешествовать, проводить время с детьми, написать книгу, восстановиться 「我要花一些時間......(旅行、與孩子們共度時光、寫書、恢復健康)

from an illness, etc.)" Meaning: I'm not working at the moment because I want to focus

on something else.

"I'm retired." "Ich bin im Ruhestand."

What about you? Was ist mit Ihnen?

Do you work for a company?

What can you say about it?

If you don't work for a company, how would you describe your work situation?

Part three: how to describe your job in more detail.

So what do you actually do all day? Так что вы на самом деле делаете весь день?

Let's see how you can describe your job in more detail.

Look at these sentences:

"I have to _________"; "I'm responsible for _________"; "Most of my time is spent "Ich muss _"; "Ich bin verantwortlich für _"; „Die meiste Zeit verbringe ich damit

_________".

Let's do some examples together.

We'll start with a simple example.

"I'm a nurse.

I have to look after patients, give them medicine and make sure they're comfortable. Ich muss mich um Patienten kümmern, ihnen Medikamente geben und dafür sorgen, dass es ihnen gut geht. Я должен заботиться о пациентах, давать им лекарства и следить за тем, чтобы они чувствовали себя комфортно.

I'm responsible for about 20-30 patients.

Most of my time is spent talking to patients and checking that everything is okay." Большую часть времени я разговариваю с пациентами и проверяю, все ли в порядке».

Next, let's do a more detailed example.

"I have to design websites to the client's specifications. „Ich muss Websites nach den Vorgaben des Kunden gestalten. 「クライアントの仕様に合わせてウェブサイトをデザインしなければならない。 «Я должен разрабатывать веб-сайты в соответствии со спецификациями клиента.

I'm responsible for the whole design process, so I have to take the client's ideas and Ich bin für den gesamten Designprozess verantwortlich, also muss ich die Ideen des Kunden aufnehmen und umsetzen 私はデザインの全工程に責任を負っているので、クライアントのアイデアや

turn them into a finished product. それらを完成品に仕上げる。

Most of my time is spent experimenting with different designs and ideas and seeing what Die meiste Zeit verbringe ich damit, mit verschiedenen Designs und Ideen zu experimentieren und zu sehen, was Большую часть времени я провожу, экспериментируя с различными дизайнами и идеями и наблюдая, что

looks good, because attention to detail is important in this kind of work." sieht gut aus, denn bei dieser Art von Arbeit ist die Liebe zum Detail wichtig." この種の仕事では細部へのこだわりが重要だからだ。 выглядит хорошо, потому что в такой работе важно внимание к деталям». 看起來不錯,因為在這種工作中註重細節很重要。”

Can you say something like this about your job and what you do?

Try to add details if you can.

Part four: saying how you feel about your job.

Now, you can hopefully say something about your job and where you work.

But here's another question: do you like your job? Но вот еще вопрос: вам нравится ваша работа?

Why or why not?

Hopefully, you enjoy your job!

How could you describe a job which you like? Как бы вы описали работу, которая вам нравится?

Of course, you could use general adjectives like 'good' or 'interesting', but here are Natürlich könnten Sie allgemeine Adjektive wie „gut“ oder „interessant“ verwenden, aber hier sind sie

some specific adjectives you could use:

Stimulating :something which is stimulating is exciting and gives you energy. Anregend: Etwas Anregendes ist aufregend und gibt Energie. Стимулирующий: то, что стимулирует, возбуждает и дает вам энергию. 刺激性:刺激性的東西令人興奮並給你能量。

Satisfying: means that your job gives you a sense of achievement. Befriedigend: bedeutet, dass Ihre Arbeit Ihnen ein Erfolgserlebnis gibt. Удовлетворение: означает, что ваша работа дает вам чувство достижения.

Creative: you can use your imagination when you work. Kreativ: Sie können bei der Arbeit Ihrer Fantasie freien Lauf lassen.

Rewarding: this means your job gives you very positive feelings. Вознаграждение: это означает, что ваша работа вызывает у вас очень положительные эмоции. 獎勵:這意味著你的工作帶給你非常正面的感覺。

It's often used to talk about jobs in which you help other people.

For example, teachers or nurses might describe their jobs as rewarding. Beispielsweise könnten Lehrer oder Krankenschwestern ihre Arbeit als bereichernd bezeichnen. Na przykład nauczyciele lub pielęgniarki mogą opisywać swoją pracę jako satysfakcjonującą.

Challenging: challenging can be positive or negative, but if you use it to talk about

your job, it would have a positive meaning.

It means that your job is difficult, but in an interesting way which makes you think and Это означает, что ваша работа сложная, но интересная, которая заставляет вас думать и

learn.

What if you don't like your job?

Again, you can use general words like 'boring' or 'difficult', which are fine but very basic. Auch hier können Sie allgemeine Wörter wie „langweilig“ oder „schwierig“ verwenden, die gut, aber sehr einfach sind.

If you want to be more creative with your vocabulary, here are some things you could

say:

Exhausting: describes work which makes you feel very tired, either physically or mentally. Anstrengend: beschreibt eine Arbeit, die Sie körperlich oder geistig sehr müde macht. Изматывающая: описывает работу, из-за которой вы чувствуете сильную усталость, физическую или умственную.

Thankless:if your work is thankless, no one notices or appreciates what you do. 吃力不討好:如果你的工作吃力不討好,沒有人會注意到或欣賞你所做的事情。

Mind-numbing: extremely boring. Mind-numbing: extrem langweilig. mind-numbing:極めて退屈。 令人心煩意亂:極度無聊。

Dead-end: describes a job which has no prospects for the future. Sackgasse: bezeichnet einen Beruf ohne Zukunftsperspektive. 死胡同:描述一份沒有未來前景的工作。

If you have a dead-end job, you will never get promoted and the job will always be the Wenn Sie einen Sackgassenjob haben, werden Sie nie befördert und der Job wird immer der sein

same.

Soul-destroying: describes a job which is extremely unpleasant and boring, and which Seelenzerstörend: beschreibt einen Job, der äußerst unangenehm und langweilig ist und der 毀滅靈魂:描述一種極不愉快和無聊的工作,並且

you really, really hate. du hasst wirklich, wirklich.

Part five: how to make a longer answer.

At this point, you should be able to introduce your work, say where you work, give details

about what you do and say how you feel about your work.

Let's make some longer sample answers together. Lassen Sie uns gemeinsam längere Beispielantworten erstellen. Давайте вместе составим несколько более длинных примеров ответов.

First one:

"I'm a pharmacist. „Ich bin Apotheker.

I started my own small pharmacy, so I'm also a business owner. Ich habe meine eigene kleine Apotheke gegründet, also bin ich auch Unternehmer.

I have to work as a pharmacist, of course, giving advice to patients and making sure Ich muss natürlich als Apotheker arbeiten, Patienten beraten und sicherstellen Приходится, конечно, работать фармацевтом, давать советы больным и следить за тем, чтобы

they have the right medicine. у них есть правильное лекарство.

However, I'm also responsible for the pharmacy, so I have to manage my staff, do the accounts, しかし、私は薬局の責任者でもあるので、スタッフの管理や会計もしなければなりません、 Тем не менее, я также несу ответственность за аптеку, поэтому я должен управлять своим персоналом, вести бухгалтерию,

and so on.

It's stimulating work because I have to do many different things every day, so I never Это стимулирующая работа, потому что мне приходится делать много разных вещей каждый день, поэтому я никогда не

get bored."

Clear? クリア?

Could you make an answer like this?

Let's do one more:

"I'm a writer. "Ich bin Schriftsteller.

I work in online education. Ich arbeite in der Online-Bildung.

I work for a big publishing company, which produces different educational materials that Ich arbeite für einen großen Verlag, der verschiedene Lehrmaterialien herstellt Я работаю в крупной издательской компании, которая выпускает различные образовательные материалы, 我在一家大型出版公司工作,該公司生產不同的教育材料

are used all around the world. werden auf der ganzen Welt verwendet.

I have to write lesson plans and materials for teachers to use in the classroom. Ich muss Unterrichtspläne und Materialien schreiben, die Lehrer im Unterricht verwenden können. Я должен писать планы уроков и материалы для учителей, чтобы использовать их в классе.

I spend most of my time thinking about how I can make different things fit together into Ich verbringe die meiste Zeit damit, darüber nachzudenken, wie ich verschiedene Dinge zusammenfügen kann Я провожу большую часть своего времени, думая о том, как я могу соединить разные вещи в Zamanımın çoğunu farklı şeyleri nasıl bir araya getirebileceğimi düşünerek geçiririm.

a lesson. eine Lektion. урок.

It's very challenging work and it can be exhausting, but it's also very creative Es ist eine sehr herausfordernde Arbeit und sie kann anstrengend sein, aber sie ist auch sehr kreativ Это очень сложная работа, и она может быть утомительной, но она также очень творческая.

and satisfying, because I know people all around the world are using lessons which I и удовлетворительно, потому что я знаю, что люди во всем мире используют уроки, которые я

wrote."

Okay, now it's your turn! Gut, jetzt bist du dran!

Try to make a longer answer like this talking about your job.

Use the vocabulary and structure from this lesson to help you. Verwenden Sie das Vokabular und die Struktur aus dieser Lektion, um Ihnen zu helfen.

If you want, you can post your answer in the video comments on YouTube.

We'll give you some feedback on your answer.

That's the end of the lesson.

I hope you learned some new ways to talk about your job and what you do.

Thanks very much for watching. Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen.

See you next time!